Lauren Woodland

What a Girl Wants from CBS.com

It's a Thursday afternoon around 3 p.m. and Genoa City's newest ingenue, Lauren Woodland (Brittany Hodges) is receiving her final touch-ups before her first "official" CBS photo shoot begins. But Lauren isn’t new to the world of acting, or even the world of daytime for that matter. (She appeared briefly on both Port Charles and Sunset Beach.) What makes this role different for Lauren is the fact that Brittany has allowed her to move away from her "good girl" image. CBS.com got a chance to chat with Lauren - between one of her five wardrobe changes - to find out a little bit more about the actress and her character.
CBS.com: How are you enjoying working on Y&R?
LAUREN WOODLAND: Oh, it's great. Daytime is a lot of fun. You have a lot of loyal fans and you have a great schedule. Especially on Y&R because it's the number one soap. We got twenty-eight [Emmy] nominations this year! You can't get any better than that.
CBS.com: What did you do on your time off between jobs?
LAUREN WOODLAND: I was shooting a movie in Ireland called The Doorway. I was there for five weeks. Then I shot three episodes of MTV's Undressed. Then I was up in Vancouver for two and a half weeks doing a picture called Seven Days, which will air in May. It will be on UPN. The MTV episodes already aired.
CBS.com: Is Seven Days a series?
LAUREN WOODLAND: Yes, actually, one of the directors of the show, Kenneth Johnson, directed me in the series I did called Alien Nation. He was the creator of that series. He cast me when I was eleven years old. We did a lot of "movies of the week" growing up and I hadn't seen him in two years. I ran in to him in Vancouver of all places when I was shooting Seven Days. That was pretty special.
CBS.com: When did you realize you wanted to be an actress?
LAUREN WOODLAND: I must have been about five years old. I was at a friend's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. I got up on stage and started singing. There was no one there. I was [on stage] singing and people started coming in. I started auditioning for commercials after that and I've been working since I was six years old.
CBS.com: Sounds like you had an early start.
LAUREN WOODLAND: I guess I always acted.
CBS.com: Are you enjoying portraying Brittany?
LAUREN WOODLAND: Brittany is a lot of fun because I've always played the good girl. Brittany's really the first "bad girl" that I've played. She's not evil, but she definitely has an agenda. She's also very sexual. This is really the first time in my career that I've been allowed and encouraged to be sexy. Before that I was always playing a "girl," so it's a lot of fun to use my femininity and sexuality, and also get to be a little devious at the same time.
CBS.com: That does sound like fun. How do you like working with David Tom [Billy]?
LAUREN WOODLAND: David is a sweetheart. We work really well together because he likes to rehearse a lot. He's very serious about his acting and that's really refreshing. I would say most everyone on the show is [serious about their work], but we work so much together, opposite each other almost in every scene, that I think we both really lucked out in having such similar methods of working.
CBS.com: Who would you like to work with in the future?
LAUREN WOODLAND: Well, that's a good question. I haven't really thought of that much because I think of my character in terms of my storyline. My storyline is pretty limited to Raul, Mac and Billy, which is great. I did have a scene with Jess [Walton, Jill]. She's fantastic. I'd like to do more with her...and confront [Billy's] parents more.
CBS.com: How do you think your relationship with Billy will develop?
LAUREN WOODLAND: I would just like to see them [Billy and Brittany] stay together longer. I know that he has feelings for Mac, but there's something about Brittany that is very special. I think that's why Billy stays with her. It tortures us. [Jokes] I'd like for him to not be able to resist her for quite a while longer. [Laughs]
CBS.com: Do you think Brittany senses the emotions between Billy and Mac?
LAUREN WOODLAND: She's starting to, but she'll do everything in her power to prevent it. She'll play the sympathy card with Billy and make him feel guilty as much as she can. She'll also play up the sexy part of her. That [is the] power she holds over Billy. She can always use that to lure him back. She knows that she can't be Mac. I don't even think she'd want to be, but the one thing she can use to distract him is that sexuality. Even though she's smart...the sex and the guilt together are a great combination.
CBS.com: Do you think Brittany will try to get "in" with his parents?
LAUREN WOODLAND: I think that might be a last resort. She genuinely wants that approval and that acceptance. She does genuinely care for Billy so, of course, she wants his parents to like her, too. I think it's a must because the last thing she needs is for Billy's parents to be discouraging this relationship. It would really screw up her plans.
CBS.com: I think viewers enjoy the mild rivalry between Mac and Brittany.
LAUREN WOODLAND: I have to say that sometimes I don't like having to be jealous of Mac and being mean to her. I really like Ashley [Bashioum, Mac] a lot. I wish we could be friends in the plot, but it will probably take a while.
CBS.com: What do you do on your days off work?
LAUREN WOODLAND: I rest and then clean up around the house. I go out with my friends and work out. I collect my thoughts and try to rest before the next episode because everything happens so fast on a soap. You work really quickly and once you're on the set there's no time to prepare. You have to do all your prep work before. I like to be able to go into the studio and nail it. So, on my days off I try to get my head together.
CBS.com: Is this your first photo shoot at CBS?
LAUREN WOODLAND: Yes. I [also] did one for a soap magazine, but this is the first one for CBS.
CBS.com: Do you enjoy doing photo shoots?
LAUREN WOODLAND: It makes me feel like a big, glamorous star. That's a great feeling. It's the best. You have incredible hair, makeup and wardrobe stylists and you get your photo taken. We did five looks today. I feel like a supermodel. It's the attention - I love that!
CBS.com: Did you ever dream that you'd be here, or is it beyond anything you expected for yourself?
LAUREN WOODLAND: No, it's just the beginning. It's the beginning of the best...a lot more fun and glamorou s things to come…I hope! I'm looking forward to it.
CBS.com: You mentioned feature films. Will you be doing any more in the future?
LAUREN WOODLAND: Not for a while because I'm really committed to The Young and The Restless. I really want my work on The Young and The Restless to be good. The show is my number one priority, but eventually I would like to do more feature films.
CBS.com: Thank you for talking with us. LAUREN WOODLAND: Sure. Thank you.